Hard at Play
1991 studio album by Huey Lewis and the News
Hard at Play | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 7 May 1991 | |||
Recorded | 1990–1991 | |||
Studio | Skywalker Sound and The Site (Marin County, California); Schnee Studios (North Hollywood, California); Studio D (Sausalito, California); Apt. 2 Recording (Novato, California); Sub-Par Recording (California). | |||
Genre | Rock, pop rock | |||
Length | 46:09 | |||
Label | Chrysalis (UK)[1] EMI (Most of the world) | |||
Producer | Huey Lewis and the News Bill Schnee Eric Thorngren | |||
Huey Lewis and the News chronology | ||||
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Singles from Hard at Play | ||||
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Hard at Play is the sixth album by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News. It was released in 1991 on EMI for most of the world and Chrysalis in the UK. Hard at Play peaked at number 27 on the Billboard 200 pop albums chart and produced two top 40 singles, "Couple Days Off" and "It Hit Me Like a Hammer." Music videos were released for "It Hit Me like a Hammer," "Couple Days Off," and "He Don't Know."
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
In a review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine notes the "return to the straight-ahead blues-inflected pop/rock that made Huey Lewis and the News superstars in the early '80s" with Hard at Play.[2]
Track listing
- "Build Me Up" (Johnny Colla, Huey Lewis) – 4:28
- "It Hit Me Like a Hammer" (Robert "Mutt" Lange, Lewis) – 4:01
- "Attitude" (Max Carl) – 4:00
- "He Don't Know" (Don Covay, Jon Tiven, Sally Tiven) – 4:15
- "Couple Days Off" (Chris Hayes, Lewis, Geoffrey Palmer) – 4:56
- "That's Not Me" (Michael Ruff) – 4:15
- "We Should Be Making Love" (Andy Goldmark, Steve Kipner, Steve Lindsey) – 4:01
- "Best of Me" (Bonnie Hayes, Kevin Hayes, Annie Stocking) – 3:57
- "Do You Love Me, Or What?" (C. Hayes, Lewis, Nick Lowe) – 3:46
- "Don't Look Back" (Lewis, Bill Gibson, David Fredericks) – 3:44
- "Time Ain't Money" (Colla, Lewis) – 4:46
Personnel
Huey Lewis and the News
- Huey Lewis – harmonica, vocals
- Mario Cipollina – bass
- Johnny Colla – guitar, saxophone, backing vocals
- Bill Gibson – percussion, drums, backing vocals
- Chris Hayes – guitar, backing vocals
- Sean Hopper – keyboards, backing vocals
Additional personnel
- The Gospel Hummingbirds – backing vocals (4)
- David Fredericks – backing vocals (5, 10)
- Mike Duke – backing vocals (6)
- Michael Ruff – backing vocals (6)
- John McFee – guitar (11)
Production
- Huey Lewis and the News – producers
- Bill Schnee – producer, engineer, mixing
- Eric "ET" Thorngren – co-producer (1, 5), additional engineer
- Bob Brown – executive producer
- Bob Edwards – additional engineer, assistant engineer
- Jeffrey "Nik" Norman – additional engineer
- Ken Allardyce – assistant engineer, mix assistant
- Tony Eckert – assistant engineer
- Stephen Hart – assistant engineer
- Tim Lauber – assistant engineer
- Kevin Scott – assistant engineer
- Jim "Watts" Vereecke – assistant engineer
- Jack Joseph Puig – mixing
- Doug Sax – mastering at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA).
- Henry Marquez – art direction
- Michael Diehl – design
- Aaron Rapoport – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (1991) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[3] | 61 |
Canadian Albums (RPM)[4] | 20 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[5] | 67 |
European Top 100 Albums[6] | 25 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[7] | 9 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] | 14 |
Italian Albums (AFI)[9] | 25 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10] | 10 |
Japanese International Albums (Oricon)[11] | 1 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[12] | 26 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] | 25 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] | 9 |
UK Albums (OCC)[15] | 39 |
US Billboard 200[16] | 27 |
Zimbabwean Albums (ZIMA)[17] | 7 |
Year-end charts
Chart (1991) | Position |
---|---|
Canadian Albums Chart (RPM)[18] | 85 |
Singles
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | "Couple Days Off" | Album Rock Tracks | 3 |
1991 | The Billboard Hot 100 | 11 | |
1991 | "Build Me Up" | Album Rock Tracks | 27 |
1991 | "It Hit Me Like a Hammer" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 21 |
1991 | Adult Contemporary | 10 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[19] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ)[20] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[21] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ "Huey Lewis And The News – Hard At Play (1991, Vinyl)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Hard at Play – Huey Lewis & the News". AllMusic. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 165.
- ^ "RPM: Huey Lewis and the News (albums)". RPM Magazine. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (12 October 1991). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 24 December 2021 – via Google Books.
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has generic name (help) - ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
- ^ "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1991: Altri". Hit Parade Italia.
- ^ "Oricon Archive - Huey Lewis and the News". Oricon. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- ^ "Oricon Archive - Huey Lewis and the News". Oricon. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
- ^ "Huey Lewis and the News Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
- ^ "The RPM Top 100 Albums of 1991". RPM. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play". Music Canada. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
- ^ "Japanese album certifications – ヒューイ・ルイス・アンド・ザ・ニュース – ハード・アット・プレイ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved July 25, 2012. Select 1992年5月 on the drop-down menu
- ^ "American album certifications – Huey Lewis and the News – Hard at Play". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
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- Huey Lewis
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- Huey Lewis and the News
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- Hard at Play
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- "Do You Believe in Love"
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- "I Know What I Like"
- "Doing It All for My Baby"
- "Perfect World"
- "Give Me the Keys (And I'll Drive You Crazy)"
- "Couple Days Off"
- "It Hit Me Like a Hammer"
- "(She's) Some Kind of Wonderful"
- "But It's Alright"
- "Little Bitty Pretty One"
- Discography
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- The Heart of Rock and Roll (musical)
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